Ragnell wrote a nice piece on Green Lantern mothers (that is to say, mothers of Green Lanterns, not Green Lanterns who happen to be mothers, although that would also be interesting). She says a lot about the parental roles--what characteristics the parents pass on to their superhero kids, which characteristics tend to come from fathers, which tend to come from mothers, and so forth. I don't disagree with much, if any, of what she says--that it's usually the relationship with the father that's most important in building the hero's character.
From what I've seen in comics, positive parental roles tend to be of two sorts--either the parent provides inspiration or s/he provides support. Rarely does a parent figure provide both.
Think of Spider-Man. Uncle Ben provides (posthumous) inspiration not only in that his death was the essential cause of Spidey's heroism but in his own goodness, providing a strong role model for Peter; Aunt May provides support--she makes food, worries when Peter has a sniffle, worries when he disappears for days on end, etc. Peter loves May but he does not want to be like her, particularly.
Think of Superman. While his values come from having grown up in a close-knit Midwestern family, you don't see Pa Kent urging his son to eat, and you rarely see him worry as Ma does. (I'm sure he does, but he doesn't let on to Clark.)
Iron Man's parents are dead, but think of their respective legacies. His father's influence is seen in Stark International, the family business, where Tony exercises both his business acumen and his scientific skill and creativity. His mother is commemorated with the Maria Stark Foundation, a non-profit, charitable organization which is best known for funding the Avengers, but which also makes donations to assorted good causes.
While some of the discrepancy has to do with the fact that when a hero has only one living parent, it's almost always the father, that doesn't explain it all.
I think it's likely that you don't see mothers as inspirational role models because most of them have already been assigned the support role. And, for some reason, a comic book parent can't seem to do both.
3 comments:
Very true.
And the flipside of the message is that fathers CAN'T be there for the support role. That's why so many heroes have surviving fathers, IMO, to stir up sympathy for them by showing how they're alienated from that good ole' mother love.
Some of those dads may try, but only a WOMAN can really nurture. That's what women are for, y'know. ;)
(You know, personally, I've always found it so, so beautiful that Batman's support role is filled by a man, Alfred Pennyworth. He's the worrier, the feeder, the tie-tier. It's glorious.)
Check out the new Blue Beetle: both of his parents are very much still part of his life, and both of them both nurture and support. Jaime Reyes must have the best supporting cast in comics.
I meant, inspire and support. Although they nurture too.
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